The rest of the night found both Castle and Beckett fast asleep, without any more dreams. Each had a small smile on their face, and their hands clasped tightly together. In the quiet of the night, they could pretend the last few months hadn't happened, that he wasn't in a hospital with a gunshot wound, or that they weren't actually a "they" anymore. No, at this moment life was perfect. Safe, happy, together.

Much like the day before, Dr. Marshall woke Rick and Kate as he entered their room. The doctor noted, with some interest, that the two seemed much more relaxed today than the day before. He could tell by just their postures. The gossip in the nurse's station was centered primarily on the two occupants of this room. Many had bets on whether or not the writer and his muse were back together again. He was starting to wonder if perhaps they actually were a couple. If he had to guess, based on this moment, he would say yes. However, he has also heard the nurses discussing the arguments they've overheard. To say the nurses loved this free entertainment would be putting it lightly. This was better than television.

"Good morning, Kate. How are you feeling today, Rick? I see in the chart you had some issues with your stitches last night?"

"I, um, ripped a few out I guess. I moved wrong…" Castle stumbled out. He had slept so well that he had nearly forgotten the nightmare. The reminder of the stitches brought back all of the images and feelings from a few hours ago.

"Well, let me take a look at it. Jess seems to think they are ok, but I'd like to make sure. Wouldn't want our celebrity patient to give us a bad report now would we?" Dr. Marshall joked. Although, Rick donated a crap ton of money to the hospital after Kate was shot. He was so grateful she pulled through that he made sure the hospital had plenty of funds to keep the hospital running well. So, maybe it wasn't much of a joke.

Castle leaned forward and gritted his teeth. It hurt to move his body forward and sit up. It pulled the stitches. In addition, his back was sore, and the wound had a dull ache to it. He refused to mention this to anyone because he didn't want to be in a drugged stupor anymore. He wanted to be fully alert and cognizant, especially with Kate around, so he decided to just bare the pain. It wasn't that bad after a while anyway.

"You can lean back now, Rick. I'm going to agree with Jess and say that you are going to be fine. In fact, you are healing quite nicely. As I told you yesterday I would like to get you up and moving a little today. Your muscles have been inactive for a few days so you are going to be sore. Take it easy, and very slow. Do not try to walk unassisted or you could do more damage than good. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Yes! This is one more step towards freedom.

"Kate? Don't let him rush this ok? He still has swelling around the site and I don't want him to overexert himself. If he does," Dr. Marshall pauses to look back at Castle, "he will have to spend even longer in this hospital room. He doesn't want that now does he?"

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he takes it easy."

"Hey! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You act like I'm going to run a marathon as soon as you leave the room. " Castle faked a scowl.

"Come on, Castle. We both know you couldn't run a marathon if you wanted to, and that was before the bullet wound." Kate joked.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Kate. I thought you were here to have my back, not stab it."

"I'm sorry, Castle. You can run a marathon with me as soon as you get out of here. Just to prove you can do one. Ok?" Kate tried to say without smiling.

"Speaking of which," Dr. Marshall decided to cut in even though they were amusing, "I feel ok releasing you tomorrow. That will depend, however, on a few things. First, you need to be able to walk around without assistance. Now, I know I just told you that you weren't allowed to today, but if Kate thinks you can do it alone this afternoon, you can try."

"Kate? I am perfectly capable of making that decision." Castle said.

"Yes, but I have a feeling she is going to be in charge of your recovery. Right?"

Silence.

Awkward silence.

They hadn't talked about what they would do when he was released. She didn't have her apartment anymore. She was jobless. It terrified her how out of control her life had become in such a short amount of time.

Castle wasn't sure if he should offer her a room at the loft? Are they really ready to move in together? Was he willing to trust her again? There were too many unanswered questions.

Finally, Castle spook up. "Kate is very good at being bossy. So, she will be in charge of my recovery whether I like it or not." Joking is the only way out of this awkward situation.

Dr. Marshall looked between the two of them. Well, I guess that answers that question. No, they are not together. It's obvious they want to be, but something is preventing their relationship…. Wait. I am a damn doctor. Why do I even care about this? He needed to get out of here before he felt like a doctor on Grey's Anatomy.

"Second, as long as you have someone there with you at all times for the first week then you will be fine to go home. Before you leave, we will set up a schedule for you to attend PT. It's going to be a few months of recovery, Rick. I know you want to get your life back to the way it was before, but you are going to need to be patient."

Dr. Marshall didn't realize how true that statement was. It applied to more issues than just his back too.

"I understand. Thank you, Doc, for everything." Castle replied.

"No problem. Is there anything you have questions about that I can answer for you before I head out?"

Rick looked at Kate. She had been very quiet, too quiet. He could tell she was only half listening to their conversation. Her head was somewhere else entirely, and he had a pretty good idea what was on her mind.

"No, I can't think of anything. Kate?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Thank you, Doc, for everything." Kate stumbled through the statement.

"Funny. That's what your boy just said too. Ok, talk to the nurses if you think of anything. Remember… slow and steady wins the race. Take it easy."

Castle smiled. "I got it."

The door shut leaving the two former partners alone once again. Rick turned his head from the door to the still quiet Kate. Her head was bowed and he could just imagine that she was biting her lip. Her hands were clenched in fists and her knuckles were turning white. She was worried about something.

"Kate? Talk to me."

This moment was huge. This moment would tell him if Kate had really changed, if she was really ready for a relationship. He knew how difficult it was for her to not be alone to process something that upset her before she could talk about it. He knows this about her, yet he is asking her to be open with him right now. To process with him. Please don't hide from me, Kate.

A very stressed minute later, Kate looked up. She had tears in her eyes and she looked scared. It jarred him to see her look so unlike what he was used to.

"What am I going to do?" Kate mumbled.

"About what?"

She looked back down. "I quit my job. I used a lot of my savings on my place in DC. I gave up my apartment in New York. My friends hate me. I broke your trust. What am I going to do?"

"They don't hate you, Kate. They were upset, rightfully so, but you know they will forgive you. They missed you, and they aren't going to turn a cold shoulder to you now. Give it some time, Kate."

He wasn't sure what else to say. Everything inside of him was screaming to offer her the loft. It would be so easy to fall back in to their relationship. She wouldn't need to go back to work. They could spend their days together, doing whatever they pleased, and learning to love each other again. The picture was so appealing that he wanted to shout it at her right away. Was that rushing things though? It seemed like it be more like taking a step back.

The last few days have been wonderful with her by his side, talking. It has renewed his faith in love, in their relationship. However, if they blindly jump into living together they run the risk of falling back into their same traps. Using sex and life to get in the way of actually talking. If they are truly moving towards marriage, Castle knows they will need to learn communication skills before they can co-habitat.

"I can help you… get back on your feet."

"No, I appreciate it Castle, but I need to do this."

"Of course. How could I forget?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you are so damn independent that you never fully let me in! Why wouldn't you let me help you? It's ridiculous for you to suffer, to worry about something so stupid as money, when I can help! It's selfish, Kate."

"Selfish? How is this selfish? I made this mess, now I have to fix it. It's simple."

"Yes, you made a mistake, but that doesn't mean you get to play a victim. You admitted to the mistake and now it's time to move on."

"And letting you pay for everything is moving on? No, I don't think so."

"Yes! Yes, it is moving on! Don't you see what you are doing? This is the same fight we have been having for years and I can't take it anymore! You are pushing me away, trying to fix yourself alone, because you are too proud to accept help from anyone. It isn't noble, Kate. It's foolish. I'm tired of being forced to watch from the sidelines when I want to help you so badly. You say we are partners, you say you want to be together, well… this just proves to me that you haven't changed. You want me when it's easy, but when it matters most you run."

"I'm not running." Kate said. How did this conversation turn into a fight?

"Maybe I am. Maybe this," Castle motions between the two of them, "really should be over. I love you, Kate, but it isn't enough anymore. We are the ones we are running from. I don't know if that will every change."